If I might be permitted to use a metaphor (shocking, I know) the narrative of Given seems to follow a tectonic pattern.  That is to say, major earthquakes happen when seismic energy isn’t released slowly over an extended period.  Rather, tension builds up as plates grind together and then is released more or less all at once.  If this process of building pressure lasts a long time, the result can be a major shake – and in the world of one-cour anime (especially on NoitaminA), 8 episodes is a hell of a long time.

That’s not to say that nothing happened over those first eight episodes, but all that pressure was certainly building up.  That’s because the activity was mostly on the character plate and not reflected by commensurate movement in the plot plate.  In a way the difficulty the characters have in communicating their feelings to each other (especially Mafuyu) is emblematic of this.  Well, we only have 11 episodes to work with and clearly the shit was going to hit the fan sooner or later.  And the dam burst when Ritsuka’s composure snapped like a guitar string.

Now, I have no idea why an experienced guitarist wouldn’t have spare strings (and there’s no reason a string from Ritsuka’s Telecaster wouldn’t work on Mafuyu’s ES-330).  But I suppose it made good drama for Ritsuka to have to dash to a music store (fortunately you can’t swing a dead kyuubey in Shimokitazawa without hitting one of those), and it gave him time to clear his head.  That also probably gave Mafuyu the alone time he needed to find his resolve to do what came next.

Just as with plot tectonics (I definitely need to copyright that phrase) the relative paucity of music was made up for in a big way here (as I suspected it would be).  After a little taste of Take’s band (who Haruki begs to extend their set so Ritsuka can change Mafuyu’s strings), we get to the main event, The Seasons.  And it doesn’t disappoint – it was worth the wait.  It’s a very good song – much more of a rocker than the ED – and Yano Shougo does an excellent job.  The emotional power of the lyrics, of course, comes from the fact that Mafuyu is singing about the pain the loss of Yuki has caused and still is causing him – something he’s never been able to vocalize any other way.

It’s that element as much as the performance of Yano-san itself that gives this scene its emotional heft.  One assumes that Mafuyu has more or less had the lyrics finished in his head for a while and was simply undecided if he was willing to share something so personal with the world.  It was Ritsuka’s vulnerability (at last) that pushed Mafuyu over the edge, and I suppose the question now is whether this will prove to have been cathartic for him.  As for for the live itself, Mafuyu bailed after his one song (clearly he’s not ready for prime time on guitar anyway) but he made quite the impression when he was on-stage.

I’m still not sure what I think of Mafuyu to be honest, and his flashback of his life with Yuki (now voiced by Shin Yuuki) if anything reinforces that uncertainty.  The big “ouch” moment to be sure is that he asked Yuki “Are you willing to die for me?”, presumably just before Yuki did die.  Naturally Mafuyu is wracked with guilt about that, as anyone would be, but he also feels an equally natural resentment towards Yuki for leaving him.  Frankly their relationship, intense and close as it was, doesn’t come off as being especially healthy here.  The impression one gets of Mafuyu is that emotionally he takes much more than he gives, and that’s the pattern in his relationship with Ritsuka too.

On that score the Richter scale is about a 7.0, as Ritsuka very much takes things to the next several levels.  And Mafuyu confirms to Hiiragi that he’s fallen in love with Ritsuka too, so there’s no question that relationship is fast-tracked now.  I can’t help but worry for them, especially Ritsuka.  Partly for the reason mentioned above, but as much because Mafuyu is still very much entangled in his intense feelings for Yuki.  Suicide is a terrible burden on those left behind, and guilt and resentment are a powerfully dangerous combination.  It was probably for the best that Mafuyu sang those words and get them out of his churning guts and into the atmosphere, but as far as being ready to move on he’s clearly still got a lot of work to do.